Working Diligently to Protect What Matters Most

Chvatal King is a family law firm specialising in divorce and child custody litigation, based out of Richland, Washington state. Earlier this year, the firm’s Manging Partner, Patricia Chvatal, was named among the winners of Acquisition International Magazine’s 2018 Leading Adviser Awards, with the title of Leading Family Law Attorney of the Year. Following this deserved win, we profiled Patricia’s work in the field as she fights to protect her client’s rights.

Patricia Chvatal has become, over the last forty years, one of the most formidable, and experienced family law attorneys in the north-west United States. As Managing Partner of Chvatal King, a firm she shares with Associate Attorney, Allison King, she has forged a reputation as being one of the best lawyers around for child custody litigation, and complex property issues.

An alumnus of Carroll College in Helena, Montana, and the Gonzaga University School of Law, Spokane, Washington, Patricia has been practicing law in Richland since 1976. A licensed attorney since 1977, when she was admitted into the American Bar Association and the Washington State Bar Association, Patricia has been a prominent member of numerous supplementary institutions; on the Board of Directors at the Tri-Cities Prep High School and the Board of Trustees Carroll College, she has become a stalwart of the community and a leading example for those that want to follow in her footsteps. Since 2000, she has worked on a pro bono basis as the Judge Pro Tem for Benton and Franklin counties, acting in the stead of official judges when the need requires. This, in many ways, speaks volumes about Patricia’s status in family law – a specialist held in high-esteem by both her clients and peers.

This is carried across all of Patricia’s work, where her reputation as a tenacious, and more importantly, knowledgeable attorney has secured success in even the most challenging of cases. In divorce litigation, where a client’s trust is essential, Patricia reassures with her confident nature, and practised expertise. Indeed, in the Washington area, there are few that can offer the years of experience and hard-earned, hard-practiced skill that she possesses.

Working alongside Patricia is Associate Attorney, Allison King. Graduating cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Washington State University in 2001, she went on to earn her Juris Doctorate from Gonzaga University School of Law in Spokane, Washington. Like Patricia, Allison has participated in pro bono work at the Benton Franklin Counties Bar Association Board of Governors between 2011 and 2013, and currently conducts work at the Benton Franklin County Legal Aid Society Board of Trustees.

Allison and Patricia have both spent the majority of their careers in litigation proceedings. Their experience is tuned towards a comfort in the courtroom, where cases are- most of the time– won or lost. Clients want someone who can act in their best interests, and fight in their corner. For those working in family law, this holds more importance than most sectors of the legal industry. The stakes are, naturally, high, dictating the client’s foreseeable future and changing the path their lives will take.

With this in mind, success in family law is not easy, and ‘success’ can be defined in many ways. Success in criminal law is acquittal, or a dramatically reduced sentence. A talented family law attorney needs to consider all the options, and effectively communicate them with the client. The ‘ideal’ scenario is rarely achievable. Chvatal King has succeeded despite this difficulty, thriving in an altogether challenging sector. For this expertise, Patricia Chvatal was named in Acquisition International’s esteemed Leading Adviser programme as the Leading Family Law Attorney. It’s hard to imagine another being worthy of the title; Patricia’s forty years in the industry mark her head and shoulders above her peers, as an undisputable expert in family law.